When We Meet Again
by winterliewsound
Summary: A polished version of Back to You. Rin returns to Japan years after she left and hopes to rekindle her friendship with Len, only to find another girl in her class who seems to be better than her at everything, Hatsune Miku. With the new school year beginning, love blooms, friendships destroyed, memories forgotten and unforgivable sins committed.
1. Backstory

BACKSTORY

Two children, barely the age of seven, sat together on the front porch of the house, savouring one last time together as they caught their breath after a game of cat and mouse. The older of them was a girl, with short blonde hair that seemed to reflect the sinking sun. She wore a big bow on her head, a traid that she didn't want to go out without. Her eyes were a magnificent blue as deep as the ocean and filled with life. Mothers would fuss over her as she was - as they say - really cute. The younger was a boy with similar features as her as puberty hadn't interfered. He was shorter however and his skin was pale, almost as if he bathed in white powder. His messy hair grew to his shoulders which he didn't bother to tidy. Both of them were born on the same day and some mistaken them for twins, which couldn't have been more false. They did looked like and shared the same surname, but were in no way blood-related.

'Rin...when will you be back?' the boy asked her.

The girl shrugged. 'I don't know. Mom said she wasn't sure. Grown-up business she said.'

'But who will I play with when you're gone?'

'I'll be back soon.' The girl tried to reassure her friend but realised that it was useless once she saw the tears started welling in his eyes.

'I don't want to be alone. You know once you're gone I'm all alone,' he sobbed as the tears came in fat droplets, soon turning into a waterfall.

Rin reached out towards him for a hug and the both of them remained there like that for a long time. The boy was still sobbing violently and Rin felt her own eyes wet with tears.

'I'll be alone over there too, but I promise that I'll come back to you,' she said and wiped away his tears with a handkerchief tucked away in her dress pocket. 'Mom said I won't be away forever, she said that we'll come back and we'll play together again, Len.'

Len held up his pinky towards her. 'That's a promise, right?' He wiped his face with his other arm.

Rin hooked her own pinky around his and connected their thumbs. 'Of course, we'll remain best friends forever, even when I'm away.'

The two of them pulled each other together in an embrace again. The day after, Rin would be going away to Singapore with her single mother, for how long she was unsure. Len would continue living in Japan, in a school he was so sure he would not make any friends, and his own parents were barely around.

Once they separated from each other's grasp, Len's tears had stopped falling. The sun reflected something shiny from her chest that caught Len's eyes. He smiled when he saw the necklace he had given her for her birthday - a treble clef with wings, with a turquoise in the middle that resembles their birtmonth. He had a matching one too except his was a bass clef. He had begged his parents to buy them as he remembered that she loved to sing and sometimes even urged him to be her backup singer. She loved the present and earned himself a peck on the cheek. His face flushed red as he remembered the moment.

'What?' Rin asked, noticing his sad grin.

'I just can't wait until you're back,' he said dismissively. He stood up for a brief moment to give her a kiss on her forehead before sitting back down on the porch. Rin's eyes glistened and she closed her eyes to stop the tears from welling again.

Len swore to himself that he would never forget this moment, and definitely not forget his best friend.


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 - RIN

The fourteen-year-old sighed as she gazed out the window of her apartment. Even though it was only six in the morning the sun shone brightly through the window. The morning chill made her hairs stand on end and she had to tug her sweater tighter around her. It was April, and that means the start of the school year. She had forgotten how it was like to live a normal life in Japan after being so long in Singapore, she had learned how to speak in Chinese, Malay and even the English slang used there - Singlish - consisting of words such as 'meh?, mah, lah, walao' and so forth. She spoke Japanese with her mother occasionally but with a bit of a lisp and so she worried that she would have trouble fitting in.

People had started to begin their morning walk to the train station, off to work or to school, everyone with a clear umbrella and an office coat or a sweater on top of their school uniform. The chill had shocked her when she had first stepped out of the plane to Japan, she knew it would be cold but not that cold. She shivered again in her place on the bench beside her window. The girl knew that she had plenty of time before school starts but she was too restless to go back to sleep, all because of the image of a young boy stuck inside her mind and his name - Len.

They had last seen each other when they were just six and of course she expected there to be some drastic changes to his appearance, and even his personality and puberty took place in both of them.

She cringed at the thought, knowing that when they see each other again - when they _might_ see each other again - it would be like seeing a stranger for the first time. Totally unpredictable. And she didn't want to think of her friend in that sort of manner.

But at the same time, she was unsure he would be in the same school as her. She had begged her mother before going to Japan that she wanted to attend the same school as she did when she was little, hoping for just a chance that Len might remain there until she came back. But it was just a small hope and the girl refused to believe that it was false.

East View Academy was just a good fifteen minutes walk from her apartment area (she had estimated beforehand). The train station was just in between. Her mother had chosen the apartment space just for convenience, plus there was a supermarket just downstairs if they needed anything. The girl admired her mother's tackiness, probably because she was so clumsy and forgetful and never prepared for anything.

She gripped the pendant over her chest in her hand that her childhood friend had given her years ago. She had kept it ever since and wore it everyday, always thinking of meeting him one day...and that day was today.

She brightened up and got out of the bench with a heave and went into the bathroom to freshen up.

...

'Are you sure you're gonna be okay?' Her mother fretted. 'You don't want me to accompany you?'

'Mom, no,' the girl reassured her. 'I've seen the school before, I know the route.'

'You've gotten all your books packed already?'

'Yes, mom.'

'Your uniform is properly attired?'

'Yes.'

'Are you sure about that bow?'

The girl blushed and self-consciously touched the big bow on her head. Last time it had helped her boost her confidence and add a little cheekiness to her appearance, but now she thought it was just childish and stupid. She wore it just so maybe Len (if he's there) could remember her...but maybe it would be a false hope.

'I'd better not then,' she said as she took it off and placed it on the kitchen table. 'I don't want to make a bad impression on the first day.'

Her mother gave a pitiful sigh and came around the table and cupped her daughter's face in her hands. 'My daughter would never be embarrassed by anyone else, you hear me?' She said firmly. 'You will remain that confident and bright girl I always knew since you were born.'

The girl blushed slightly and smiled.

'And you'd better get to school, it's nearly eight.'

'It is?!'

The girl ate the last of her breakfast and grabbed her school bag and an armful of schoolbooks.

'Good luck, Rin!' Her mother called as she exited the front door.

Rin was met with a burst of cold air as she walked outside. She shivered violently and slipped her hands into her pockets as she began her walk to school. She wore a pair of long pantyhose beneath her short school skirt in the hopes of voiding off the chill but she might as well walk without any on. By the time she rounded the corner to her new school, her cheeks burned from the wind and she was breathing in clouds of vapours. But she stopped shivering as she stood in front of the big white building, students were beginning to file in the school. Rin strained her eyes to see the only boy she was looking for but with no success. She entered the building and slipped off her shoes for a pair of proper ones the school provided her.

As she walked the school hallways, she could feel eyes landing on the mysterious stranger that roamed the school, all eyes held the question which class she was going to be in. The stranger, too, didn't know where her classroom was.

'9-A,' she kept mumbling under her breath so as not to miss it. She passed by a lot of lower classes and activity rooms but no 9-A. 'It's probably upstairs...'

When she rounded the corner of the stairwell, the first sign above the door that caught her eyes read 'Class 9-A'. Shivering with anticipation (and coldness) she walked into the classroom already bustling with students and took the seat by the window.

Eyes landed on her and she felt it like prickles running up her arms and tingles up her spine. She took off her sweater and draped it behind her chair, then took out a book to read from her bag. As far as she could do right now until someone talked to her was wait. As she read, her eyes traveled around the classroom, now full. There were more boys than girls and they seemed to be huddled around as cliques. Rin sighed. She had a feeling like she would never fit in. Disappointment gripped her stomach harder as she realised the fact that her childhood friend wasn't in the room.

He's probably in the next class... She found herself hoping but pushed it down. She didn't want to feel anymore disappointment when she found out that her only friend was gone, the only friend that had been on her mind while she was in Singapore and the only one she was hoping to meet. He was as good as gone.

The door slid open and in walked Mr. Kiyoteru. He was dressed smartly and everyone stood up to greet him.

'Good morning, everyone. Good to see you all again,' he said, taking his turn to bow.

Rin sat back down. The teacher's eyes immediately pinpointed her and he beamed. 'Well, looks like we have someone new joining us this year,' he said cheerfully.

'My. Kiyoteru!' Someone in front called. Rin immediately noticed the girl sitting in front, she was so obvious with her bright teal-coloured hair that she wore in twin-tails and her outrageously colourful scarf around her neck and the shiny but noisy bracelets decorating her forearm (she rolled up her school sleeves just so people can notice them). 'You're looking younger today!'

'Was I not looking younger the day before the holidays?' The teacher inquired, receiving a series of laughs.

'No, mister, but I was wondering what kind of shampoo you're using.'

'Seriously, Miss Hatsune. The type of shampoo I use isn't relevant to your studies.'

'It is in my everyday life,' Miss Hatsune replied, stroking one of her twin-tails. 'Does men shampoo have the same effect as shampoos for women?'

'That you'll have to ask your chemistry teacher,' Mr. Kiyoteru said, indicating that the subject was over. 'Now, for -'

He was about to address Rin again when the door to the back of the classroom slid opened. Everyone turned towards the back to see who had entered.

'Seriously, Mr. Kagamine? Late on the first day of school? You should be ashamed!'

By the mention of his surname, Rin's face grew hot and excitement flared through her. _Mr. Kagamine? No one but Len could be that person!_

'I missed the first train,' the person apologised. His voice wasn't that deep, but instead it forced a thought into the young girl's head about sleeping in cotton wool with the scent of sweetness around her. She almost gave way to looking behind her but instead forced herself to keep her gaze on the teacher in front so as to not be stupidly curious on her first day.

The seat behind her scraped on the floor and the rustle of clothing as the person took the seat behind her. Rin had forgotten there was an extra seat behind her and flushed at the thought of her childhood friend sitting right behind her. The pendant on her chest suddenly felt cold and she ignored the urge to grip it.

'Well, let's not delay this any further and welcome our new friend.' Mr. Kiyoteru directed his attention back to Rin and she stood up, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Her legs felt like they were going weak and she felt sweaty all over. She didn't want Len to recognise her like this, she didn't want this at all.

'Hello, everyone,' she spoke timidly. 'My name is Kagamine Rin and I was in Singapore for a few years before I moved back to Japan.' At the mention of her name, the classroom's interest peaked, even Mr. Kiyoteru raised his eyebrows and even more so when she mentioned Singapore.

'Ah, but your Japanese is quite good,' he said.

'I had practice with my mother.'

'And you are...Kagamine Rin? Miss Kagamine, I apologise for my curiousity, but do you have any blood relations to this scumbag called Kagamine Len?'

 _It is him!_ Rin tried to contain her excitement and breathed in deeply. 'No, sir,' she replied.

'Well, take your seat. And I'm glad to have such a pretty girl in my class.' Another series of laughter.

Rin was flushed hot red. She hunched back in her seat, now not anticipating of meeting the person behind her.

First day of school, and her planned meeting with the precious person had gone up in flames.


End file.
